Banking

As expected and reported on the blog last week, Fed Chair Janet Yellen and her team raised the Fed’s key interest rate by 0.25 percentage point today. While it’s the third time that the Fed has increased rates since the financial crisis, the US economy is on the move, and now, so are interest rates.

Yellen, in her remarks at the press conference today said that “[t]he simple message is the economy is doing well.» Read More

As the Fed wraps up their last of its eight 2-day meetings this year it’s likely to raise its key short-term interest rate by 0.25% or 25 basis points. So, what’s motivating the Fed to raise the rate? A number of factors are in the mix: (i) the base unemployment rate (the Department of Labor “U3 Rate”) is at its lowest since 2007, and we all remember the tail end of that boom; (ii) this year alone, the US has added approximately 2,000,000 jobs to date; (iii) with the U3 Rate at 4.6% there’s pressure building to increase wages, as employers look to add staff in a tightening employment market; and (iv) the Fed is expecting inflation to kick in during 2017. » Read More

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its August employment statistics this morning. The numbers fell short of the 165,000 – 185,000 total non-farm job increases expected by markets. The BLS Release at 8:30 AM DST reported that “Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 151,000 in August, and the unemployment rate remained at 4.9 percent…” noting that “employment continued to trend up in several service-providing industries.” Read the news release here.» Read More

Fed Chair Janet Yellen announced this afternoon the much anticipated increase in its benchmark interest rate from zero to 0.25%. While many of the US economic sectors have improved, the Fed has been concerned about the low inflation rate. Notwithstanding that concern, the Fed unanimously agreed to the rate hike, noting in its policy statement that “the Committee judges that there has been considerable improvement in labor market conditions this year, and it is reasonably confident that inflation will rise over the medium term to its 2 percent objective.”

The increase in the Fed’s benchmark rate ends its quantitative easing program that has been going on for the better part of a decade.» Read More

While the Fed is more comfortable that US economy is performing well, China and global turmoil rule the day. Coming out of its two day meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee released a statement pushing off any interest rate increase. “Recent global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity somewhat and are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the near term.” But for the lone dissenter in the vote, Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker, the decision to hold the line on any rate hike was unanimous. » Read More